Natsu Dragneel, The World's Strongest Mage: Final Mix
by awesomeitude
Summary: Natsu's dream is to become the world's strongest mage and... wait, why am I typing this summary? You know what this story's about! And if you don't, just read the other one in my profile. It's still there. And it's AWESOME!
1. Chapter 1

**Well, I must say I'm surprised that 'Natsu Dragneel, The World's Strongest Mage: Recoded' got the most votes. I was expecting 'Best in the World' to win because that was the one I initially was going to use, but whatever. Here we go!**

 ** **Chapter 1:** **The World's Strongest Mage****

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.**

* * *

 **"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"** roared Natsu as he charged Igneel with his flaming fist. Igneel easily swatted away Natsu like a rag doll. Natsu crashed into a boulder and landed on the ground with a thud. He got back up and prepared his next attack, but then stopped and looked at the ground in shame.

Igneel is startled saying, " **What's the matter Natsu**?"

Natsu spoke up, "Dad, am I really this weak?"

 **"What do you mean you're weak?"** Igneel said.

"Dad, my aim is to surpass you and become the world's strongest mage, but how can I do that if I can't even touch you!?" Natsu said while looking up with tears in his eyes. Now Igneel was truly startled. Not only did Natsu just declare he, a human, would surpass him, a dragon, but he also declared that he would become the strongest wizard in the world, and Igneel easily knew who that was. Igneel was proud of his son.

 **"Well, I must say, I never thought I would see the day you cry Natsu!"** Igneel said while laughing.

"HEY!" Natsu shouted, "I'm serious! If I'm going to be the world's strongest mage and surpass you, how can I do that if you're still able to smack me away like nothing!?"

 **"Natsu, just why do you want to become the world's strongest mage?"** Igneel finally asked.

Natsu recoiled slightly then answered, "Because I know there are other people out there way stronger, and since I also want to make friends when I grow up, I want to be able to protect them! I'll be able to protect them if I'm the strongest mage in the world, right?"

Igneel thought about that for a moment then replied, **"That indeed is true, but it's not just strength that is required to become the strongest."**

"It's not?" questioned the pink-haired dragon slayer.

 **"Nope,"** answered Igneel, **"It's also the bonds of your comrades that makes you stronger."** Natsu stared at the giant, red, scaly dragon he recognized as his father in awe. He broke into a smile when he realized that he was right. When you have friends by your side, they'll be able to give you the strength you don't have on your own. Natsu realized this, but also still wanted to be the best. He still thought that you'll need immense strength on your own to defend them first.

"You're right Dad," exclaimed Natsu, "but before I go and acquire friends, I need to build up my own strength first. So can you train me harder from now on?"

 **"Very well, from now on, I will be strict with you and your training, think you can handle it?"** said Igneel with a giant smirk on his face.

"Yes!" said the smiling dragon slayer oblivious to his upcoming torture and the smirk on Igneel's face.

 **"THEN STOP SMILING LIKE AN IDIOT AND PICK UP THAT BOULDER YOU CRASHED INTO!"** screamed Igneel.

"Aye!" saluted the now scared dragon slayer who picked up the boulder with clear signs of struggle.

 **"Now, I want you to carry that boulder 1,000 steps in that direction and back without dropping it in the slightest, and to make sure you don't, I'm coming with you every step of the way. And no dinner until you finish,"** said the red dragon with an evil smile on his face.

"You're kidding..." said Natsu with a horrified look on his face.

 **"GET WALKING!"** said the now infuriated Igneel.

"AYE SIR!"

* * *

 ***July 7 X777***

Natsu was crying into his scarf that was with him when he woke up this morning. He had been searching for Igneel high and low, even searched by smell, but still couldn't find Igneel. It then hit him that this is the chance he's had to go out, make friends, and become stronger.

"Igneel, I know you can't hear me, but I want you to know even though I'm finally heading out on my own, I'll still be hoping I'll see you again, but only when I become a strong wizard. Until then," said Natsu while wiping off his tears, clenching his fists, then looking to the sky, "I WILL TRAVEL ISHGAR, FIND FRIENDS, AND THEN BECOME THE STRONGEST MAGE IN THE WORLD!" And with that, Natsu ran off into the world.

* * *

 ***3 weeks later***

Natsu has been traveling hills and plains for as long as he's been alone. He's been surviving by eating what big animal that was unfortunate enough to cross paths with him. Now he's stopped in another forest to gather his strength for another trek.

"Man, I can't believe the world has all this grand stuff," said Natsu with his classic toothy grin, "I've been only out for 3 weeks, yet I've seen so many different kinds of tasty monsters. Well time to get back to my hunt for friends."

When he was about to leave, he smelled not something, but someone coming near him. As he was turning around to see who was coming his way, he was met with a kid with spiky black hair, black shirt, and metal piercing walking woozily towards him.

"Oi, are you okay?" said the confused dragon slayer.

"Hungry..." moaned the miserable boy.

"Here have some meat." Natsu held up a meat on the bone the size of his arm and the black haired boy snatched it and devoured it with no manners.

"Thanks." he said.

"Geez, you eat like you were raised by wolves," laughed Natsu.

"Nah, call me crazy, but I was raised by a dragon."

Natsu dropped his jaw in shock, "You were raised by a dragon too!?"

The other boy looked back in equal shock, "You too!?"

"Yeah, I was! I was raised by Igneel, the Fire Dragon. Who were you raised by?"

"The Iron Dragon, Metalicana."

"Cool. Say, I'm looking for people to help me become stronger so I can become the world's strongest wizard. Do you wanna travel with me?" said Natsu.

"Hmm, sure, why not, I owe you for the meat, and why don't we try to look for a town?" said the iron dragon slayer.

"A city?" said Natsu.

"Yeah, after all, they have more people there."

"Okay let's go, my name is Natsu Dragneel by the way. What's yours?"

"Gajeel Redfox, but how about I call you Salamander?" Gajeel asked.

"Salamander?"

"Yeah, it's like a flaming lizard." Gajeel explained.

"Oh! I get it now! Then I'll call you... Kurogane!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Kurogane?"

"Yeah! It means 'Black Steel'! Sounds cool, huh?" Natsu explained.

"Yeah!"

"Alright Kurogane, let's go to the human society! I'm all fired up!" said Natsu with a toothy grin.

"Gee hee, let's go, Salamander!" said Gajeel as the two raced off to the direction of a near by city.

* * *

 ***2 days later***

It took a lot of sniffing and walking, but they finally found a a town full of humans. There were buildings as far as the eye could see, and there were all kinds of different smells.

"WHOA!" exclaimed Natsu with a big smile. "I had no idea that towns were so huge!"

"It is different from what I imagined though," said Gajeel. "I was expecting a small village with wooden houses here and there. Not huge buildings made of stone." Natsu and Gajeel's expectations of villages were either small wooden buildings gathered together in a clearing, or large stone buildings with a large castle somewhere in the middle of it all. Nothing like this.

"True, but who cares?! We can finally find some strong people to help me get stronger! There has to be someone here that can help me." Then Natsu's stomach started growling. "But lets eat first."

"Fine," Gajeel sighed. "but you know we can't just take food from stalls, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Natsu said dejectedly. He remembered that when he came to another town that they were chased away by an angry chef who accused them of stealing his food and not paying for it. Even though he was just leaving it on a stand for show! They may not know why that happened, but they didn't want to risk it happening again, so they've been avoiding stalls like that. No matter how good they smell.

Natsu and Gajeel started walking through the town until they saw someone throw away some half-eaten food thrown away by some lady into a metal trash can. They looked at each other for a moment as if communicating telepathically and nodded. Then they bull-rushed towards the trash can. Natsu was the first to get to it and threw off the lid. It hit Gajeel in the face but he didn't mind since he caught it with his mouth and sat down to eat it. Natsu was just digging threw the trash can for those leftovers he saw. All in all they looked pretty much like lonely, homeless kids to onlookers who passed by them, and they wouldn't be wrong either. Natsu and Gajeel have been travelling by themselves with no home to call their own and they had been abandoned by their only father figures. People who passed by them looked at them with sadness in their eyes. Then someone walked up to those two young boys.

"What are you two doing?"

Natsu and Gajeel looked up and saw a tiny old man who even they were taller than by a few inches. He had a small staff and a weird two pointed hat. He was looking and the two dragon slayers in mild confusion and squinted eyes.

"Who are you, old man?" Gajeel said with metal still in his mouth.

"My name is Makarov," Makarov introduced. "So do you mind answering my question now?"

"We're looking for food," Natsu answered.

"Correction. You're looking for food," Gajeel quipped. "My food is right here." Gajeel lifted up the half eaten trash lid as proof then went back to chomping away at it. Makarov sighed at this. Whoever these two boys were, they were clearly homeless. He could sense the large magic power within them and wanted to take them in, but first he wanted to get to know these two more.

"Why don't you just buy food?" Makarov asks.

"We don't have any money," Natsu says as he eating the leftovers that were thrown away.

"Well you can't just live off of trash," Makarov reprimanded. "Don't you two have parents?" Natsu and Gajeel then looked depressed. Makarov was slightly taken aback but waited for the two to answer.

"We used to, but not anymore," Natsu muttered. Gajeel just gripped his trash lid with a little too much force.

"I see," Makarov sighed. "So what are you boys planning to do now?"

"We were trying to find really strong people to help me get stronger!" Natsu replied.

"Help you get stronger?" Makarov questioned. "What do you mean?" Natsu and Gajeel just smirked at his and got up from their meals. The dragon slayers brought up their hands and flared their respective magic. Natsu's hand lit on fire and Gajeel turned his hand into a sword.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer! And I'm gonna be the world's strongest wizard!" Natsu proclaims with a large smile.

"I'm Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer," Gajeel said with a smirk.

Makarov looked at the two dragon slayers in shock. No wonder he felt such a large magic power from these two. A dragon slayer's power is theoretically immeasurable. He knew right then and there that these young boys were destined for great power, but they had to be raised right in order for that power to be the best it could be.

"Well, it's been fun meeting you but we've got to find strong people, so bye!" Natsu waved goodbye and Gajeel followed suit.

"Wait you two!" Makarov said. Natsu and Gajeel turned around to look at Makarov in confusion.

"What is it, old man?" Gajeel asked.

"Why don't you two join a mage guild?" Makarov said.

"Mage guild?" Natsu asked.

"Yes," Makarov said with a grandfatherly smile. "A mage guild is a place where strong people gather together and help themselves become stronger. They're like family to each other. Not to mention you can earn money while you work there. What do you think? Isn't it the perfect place for you to go?" Natsu and Gajeel looked in surprise at Makarov and then at each other. Could there really be such a great and convenient place?! Only one way to find out!

"Yeah! Where can we find one?" Natsu exclaimed.

"There just so happens to be one right here in Magnolia. Come on." Makarov started walking away and the young dragon slayers went after him. Natsu couldn't help but feel excited. He's finally found the first step to achieving his dream. He may not know what the next steps will be or how the world works, but he does know he won't be alone when taking them. He'll be walking side by side with Kurogane and everyone else in the mage guild.

Together.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **There you go! Sorry the first chapter is so short. I was held up by my mom and uncle doing stuff with me for my birthday. Plus I'm a procrastinator, but you already knew that. However I made a promise and I intended to keep it, no matter how many change of plans got in the way. I promise that the next chapter will be longer.**

 **Next Chapter: "Chapter 2: Introductions"**

 **Review, Follow, Favorite, etc. etc**


	2. Attention!

**Hey guys! awesomeitude here and I'm here to tell you guys that I'm not dead yet! And neither is this story! Believe it! I'm in the middle of doing a lot of shit for myself and this story. For one I'm trying to join the United States Coast Guard right now. And the fact that I'm trying to pull my shit together with college.**

 **As for this story, I'm in the middle of rewriting the first chapter again. This time, I plan on starting at the very beginning of Natsu's life. I mean, when he and Zeref were brothers who lived with each other. Their mom and dad will be in it and I'll be changing their appearance from what the manga showed. I think we can all agree that their appearances were not done that well, or at least not better than they were in the Dragneel Brothers doujinshi. If you haven't read it, than look it up.**

 **Anyway, until I finish that rewrite, then there wont be any brand new chapters. Don't worry, I have a plan on how this will work out, so trust me when I say that this fanfic isn't dead!**

 **Deuces,  
** **awesomeitude**


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